Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-03-24
THIRTY BURNED.
The Richmond Hotel of Buffalo
Burned.
Property Loss $500. 900.

fire early ON the morning or 18TH inst,
together with st. James's hall and other
adjacent property. The most distressing
part of the disaster is the loss OF several
human lives. The rapidity Of the fire
cutting of means Of escape led some per-
sons To leap for life from the windows.
Others got down the fire escapes or on
Hayes ladders raised by the fire depart
ment. The shrieks and cries of the poor
people in the upper stories of the burning
structure were heartrending. One man
mad with terror leaped from third story
window and was picked up from the stone
sidewalk OH Main street manged and
bleeding corpse. Several who succeeded
in making their escape were badly injured
and burned and some of these will prob
ably die Others, more fortunate, escaped
with slight injuries. a
The spread of the flames Is said to have
been frightful in rapidity. The elevator
shaft served as fiue for the flames and
they rushed up to the top floor in a very
few moments. AS the guests were reused
and saw the interior exits cut off they
turned to the windows. They could be
seen in their night clothes, standing out
clear and vivid before the lurid back
ground of the flames. Their screams were
horrible to hear, and they could be heard
for blocks.
William III. Airport, night clerk, was sit
ting In the Office at $40 o'clock when he
saw a reflection on the floor. Turning
round he discovered blaze i'm the coat and
cloak room directly under the stairway of
the main floor. The flames at once
darted up the elevator shaft with tremend-
Gus force, and i'm an incredibly short space
of time the interior of the hotel was filled
with smoke and flame. Then the terrible
scenes began. The second and third
alarms brought the entire fire department
to the scene, but it was impossible to save
any portion Ut the structure. The fire had
reached the roof in less than five minutes
from the time it was discovered. 1t soon
reached and Quilted st. James hall Occu-
pied as Bunnell's museum and TivOii hall
adjoining and fronting on Washington
street. The fire, which was under control
by s o'clock was confined to the Richmond
hotel and museum property together with
the saloon of James Creighton and the cigar
store of j. &. Palacio on the Main street
side. The Main street stores OF the Rich
mOnd hotel were occupied by Ulbrich and
Kingsley, booksellers and stationers; Peter
Paul and Bros, i'm the same line of bust
ness, and Fuller IL Townsend, proprietors
of the Boston clothing store. The stocks
i'm these stores were totally destroyed, EN-
failing heavy losses. AS usual the fremen
were hampered terribly by the mass of
telegraph wires and cables strung in front
of the building on Main street.
The walls of the burned building are q
menace to life and until they are RACED and
the ruins cooled, no search for bodies can
be made. 1t is undoubtedly fact that at
least thirty persons persisted.
OF the seven bodies recovered soon after
the fire was checked, five were servants of
she house. Twenty other persons were
seriously, many of them fatally injured, and
were tanen to the different hospitals of the
city.
Many narrow escapes are reported
James Mcclure, night engineer at the
postofiice, got into the hotel soon after the
fire broke out. lie saved man who was
coming down stairs i'm his night clothes
and who was Frustrated by the flamec and
smoke. After getting him out he returned
and tried to rescue young girl from
room on the third floor, but she was
lost i'm the fire. Mr.. Mcclure said: 1T
was terrible to hear her cries. For some
reason she could not open the door and
was unable to break it in. Finally was
leave her to her fate. could only tell
from the voice, but supposed she was a
young girl anywhere from 10 to Is years
old. She was in a room OH the third floor
facing on Main street.
X. III. Eumes occupied room on the
third floor. He was awakened by the
electric bells, and after arousing several
people on the same floor. jumped through
window To the kitchen roof. There
everything was in flames. After bidding
goodbye to several others on the same
roof he made rush for the Eagle street
door, going through the kitchen skylight
and out through the flames and escaped.
He left five persons on the kitchen roof,
and thinks they must all have persisted, as
they did not attempt to follow him through
the flames.
Henry b. Rumsey was on the top story.
He ran down one flight of stairs and started
for rear window. Seeing a little girl in
the hallway he returned, got her and
jumped with her i'm his arms on to Bun
nell's museum. The skin and the beard
on his face were burned off and he was
severely burned about the body. lie will
probably die.
Among the brave deeds Of the fireu en-
was one deserving of special mention.
District Engineer Edward Murphy was on
a ladder rescuing some of the occupants OF
the hotel. At an upper story window was
one of the female domestics. He shouted
to her to remain where she was and he
would save her. The poor creature frantic
with terror, instead of obeying, leaped
from the window and literally threw her
self at Murphy. This caused him to lose
his balances on the ladder, but he hung on
with one hand and caught the girl around
the neck, holding her thus firmly until he
could regain his equilibrium, when he slid
down the ladder, bearing her safely 10 the
ground.
Five girls who roomed on the fifth floor
made rope out Of the bed clothes and
hung 1t out of the window, but none of
them seemed to have the courage to start
At last one Of the five took hold and
swung down to window ledge from
which she was rescued. Three others
came down in the same manner, and then
the fifth girl started down. She had gone
bnt little defiance when the rope parted
and down she went four stories. Strange
to say she was not killed. Her legs weW
terribly cut and bruised, her back badly
injured and her face and arms i'm fright
full condition from burns.
ii. nj. johnson says: 81 awOke and
found my room full of smoke. dressed
quickly and rushed out into the hallway.
Men, women and children acted perfectly
wild and did not know which way to go.
Women ravcd like maniacs and rushed
pell nell for the stairway and In every
direction. The smoke was almost suffo-
eating. cannot remember anything
about how got out.
Perhaps the most thrilling escape of any
was that of Pres Whitaker. Stens0n of